Serpent Devours Its Own Tail
by Angela and MiniMix
Summary: "You're between. You're not supposed to be here."/When Harry dies a second time, Truth gives him the choice to go forward or go back. Forward doesn't send him quite where he expected, and the price is a heavy one for a wizard./RoyxHarry, FMA:B verse
1. Wormholes

I have yet to see an FMA/HP crossover where Harry goes to Amestris, rather than Ed/Al/et al landing in Harry's world. Therefore, I'm going to write one myself because obviously no one else is going to do so.

That said, this fanfiction takes place just after the Battle of Hogwarts, literally the moments before/during/after Voldemort's defeat (at least for chapter one), and post-series for FMA:Brotherhood, except not the 'epilogue' episode. Basically, Ed and Al have just returned to Rizembool after Al's recovery and haven't yet headed off to see the world.

Story also follows canon, so while I have taken various liberties with it and twisted things to suit my own ends in the little details, the overreaching storylines are pretty much the same. (Horcuxes, Harry's death, Homunculi and Promised Day, etc.) I also take a few liberties with canon relationships for plot purposes. I fully intend this to be a HarryxRoy story, so Royai are very good friends and co-workers at best, and I'm a weird fan of EdxLingxLan Fan so no EdWin either. (So sorry about that, but. Well, I'm really weird.)

One last note: I will update this very slowly. It's a bit of a weird plotbunny and it keeps coming and going and being difficult. Therefore, I will _only_ post a chapter if I have the next one finished. Thus, if you see me post a new chapter, you can safely assume that the next chapter is in fact finished (even if it's not yet posted!) and I haven't left you hanging with nothing at all done.

And I'm done rambling, so enjoy.

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><p>"<em>Harry?" Hermione's voice chases after him and he just flashes her a grin before he's off moving again.<em>

_And then everything is moving too fast, there was Voldemort, and then there's only a green light and he can't move aside in time-_

"_HARRY!"_

_**xoxox**_

He doesn't know why he was expecting to see King's Cross Station a second time, because the Horcrux inside himself had already been destroyed with his first death. Rightfully, he should have _actually_ died this time.

So the great expanse of white was unexpected, but he'd grown used to unexpected things happening to him. And the giant door wasn't all that worrying either.

However, even expecting the unexpected didn't prepare him for the negative version of himself sitting before the door.

"Where—"

"_Between,"_ it replies, cutting him off. "_You're_ _between. You're not supposed to be here_."

"Then how—"

"_You can go back, if you like. I'll even do it for free. Or you can keep moving forward, for a price."_

"What? I don't—"

"_Voldemort is dead. I'll give you that bit for free, too. Dead and gone._"

"Oh… Well, that's good. But what's this price you're talking about? Move forward where?"

"_Forward. Or back. Make your choice._"

"But what's the price for—"

"_The price you're willing to pay._"

"But I don't even know _what_ I'm paying _for_!"

"_The chance to move forward, of course Mr. Wizard."_

"But what's forward?"

"_Who knows? It's forward. Now make the choice and pay the toll."_

"I- Forward, then."

He - no, _it_ – smiles. It isn't a nice smile. (_Truth and knowledge and magic and too little but too much it's inside his brain and his eyes hurt from looking at it and _it knows-)

And then the Gate opens and there are so many tiny hands, grabbing and dragging—

He can hear screaming and thinks it might be himself, but there's _so much _being poured into his head and all the faces and names and _magic and the truth and the me that isn't me is laughing—_

The Gate slams shut again, and all is silence.


	2. Like a Unicorn

I realize it's kind of a short chapter. That is alright. Next chapter is vaguely longer, and hopefully fourth will be even longer. I'm not really setting any set length or anything, just sort of writing until it feels like a chapter's complete.

**Also, warnings for spoilers in both series, though since it's mainly in fmaverse, the majority will come from there. **I forgot to warn for this last chapter, sorry about that. So I warn you now.

Enjoy. And happy thanksgiving to those celebrating tomorrow~

(And yes, I realize two chapters in one day. Don't expect everything to be this fast; I was just in a writing mood today and the bunny rolled with it, so chapter three got banged out pretty quick. I'm working on four now, so hopefully three will be posted soon. (But not likely today.))

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><p>He realizes immediately upon waking that something is wrong. He is in a bed, and it is not a Hogwarts bed, nor his bed in Surrey.<p>

He is also alone.

He should not be alone. He should be surrounded by friends asking if he is alright, witches and wizards celebrating the defeat of Voldemort, the Weasleys and their grief for Fred, Hermione and Ron and Ginny and Neville (brave Neville, so so brave) and—

He fumbles for the wand in his pocket (to do that spell that tells the caster's location, the one Hermione taught him during that year on the run with no directions and no map to find their way), and then drops it, horrified.

His magic—that warm presence he felt whenever he held his wand, the warmth that he had grown so used to feeling that he'd taken it for granted, his _magic_, it is _gone_.

The wand is a plain stick of wood in his hands now, and he can't breathe–_he isn't a wizard anymore, oh god_–

_This must have been the price to move forward_, he realizes dimly, mind in overdrive screaming at him because _he isn't a wizard_ and he can't breathe, things are going to black—

And then someone's smoothing his hair from his face and trying to calm him down with quiet words that mean absolutely nothing to him at the moment. He can barely hear over the roaring in his ears, and he's sobbing because _he isn't a fucking wizard_—

"Shh, relax. It'll be alright now. Just relax and breathe slowly. Deep breaths now, in and out. That's it."

His vision clears as his breathing slows and the panic recedes. He lived as a muggle before; he can do it again, surely. And his friends could visit him in the muggle world. He might even be able to live in the magical world as a Squib, instead of as a muggle in the muggle world. So it's okay, even if he can't use magic anymore.

His vision fills with blonde hair, and the girl who it belongs to smiles at him.

"There, you see? Everything's alright now. You're alright. What's your name?"

"H-Harry," he manages after a moment to compose himself. "Harry Potter."

"Well, Mr. Harry Potter, I'm Winry Rockbell. Nice to finally meet you when you're awake."

"I—Er, yes. Nice to meet you too. Could…could you tell me where I am?"

"Rizembool," she replies cheerfully.

His face goes slack and he stares, because he's never heard of Rizembool in either the magical or muggle worlds. (Though he last studied muggle geography in primary and that was years and years ago so he's a bit fuzzy on their locations, but he does know there's no magical village or anything named Rizembool.)

"Where's…erm, Rizembool?"

"Eastern Amestris, of course. You _are_ rather lost, aren't you?" she adds as she sees him pale even further, shock written across his face.

"I—Yes. I think I might be _very_ lost," he says quietly after a few moments of processing, as his heart sinks lower and lower in his chest. _Far more lost than you know_.

"So, what happened to you? Grandma and I found you unconscious on the road here. You looked like you got into a fist fight with a wild animal and lost."

"I…I think I died. Again," he says quietly, and Winry jerks back, startled.

"_Died? Again_? That's impossible! You're right here, after all. So you can't have died."

"I remember dying."

"You probably just thought you were dying before you passed out," she says firmly. "Because you're clearly not dead." She smiles when Harry slumps a bit, nodding in defeat. She has a point. He can't be alive in this place if he's dead. And that…Whatever it was, said he could go 'forward', so obviously it must have returned him to life if he _had_ died.

"Where are you from, then?" Winry asks. He pauses a moment and thinks.

"Surrey, England," he says finally. Hoping that maybe he's not nearly as lost as he thinks he is; maybe she knows...

"I've never heard of it. Is that another country then? I don't think it's on any map I've ever seen..."

His hopes are dashed and he shakes his head. "No, you probably wouldn't–It's a very long way away, I suppose." _Think Harry. How can you get home? _Can_ you get home?_

Winry smiles again. "Well, I'm sure we'll get you home in no time. You just rest up, and I'll go get you some lunch. Once you're feeling better, we can figure everything out." She slides off the edge of the bed, and heads out of the room with a wave.

He slumps back against the pillows and closes his eyes to think, and is asleep again before Winry returns.


	3. Visiting the Wizard

Apparently I will be posting chapter three today after all, since I just managed to finish chapter four. This is still kind of a short chapter, but next one should be at least twice as long as this one, possibly a tad longer.

Still not sure how I managed to get done to post a third chapter today, but okay then.

**Again, warnings for spoilers for both series, especially FMA.**

Enjoy.

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><p>The next time he wakes, there's a blond young man standing over him and frowning. He makes a surprised sound, and the other takes a step back and spreads his hands in a gesture of peace.<p>

"I'm Ed. Winry's a friend of mine, she asked me to check in on you since she's busy with some work. Harry, was it?"

"Yes. Harry Potter."

Ed nods slowly. "She says you're a long way from home, too. A country called England? Except it's not on any maps of the world at all." His voice is even, but his eyes are suspicious as he awaits Harry's response.

"It's a country where I'm from," he settles on eventually.

"I see."

**xoxox**

Rizembool is a beautiful place, and Harry loves it. It's the kind of place where he wishes he'd grown up; where everyone knows everyone and no one has anything worse than a cheerful good morning to say. He goes with Winry and Ed to the market on weekends and they carry the bags back for her, making small talk as they go. It's almost like being back with Ron and Hermione except that it's not, because nothing could ever compare to them, and nothing can replace them.

But it's close, and it helps.

Ed wakes him from his nightmares at night and Harry wakes Ed from his own in return. There's an unspoken agreement that neither pries into the other's dreams.

Nightmares are private things, Harry finds, and not shared easily.

**Xoxox**

And then spring draws to a close and summer's upon Rizembool, and Ed's packing to go one morning.

"I have another promise to keep," he explains, stuffing a shirt into the suitcase. "I promised Ling I'd come back and visit in Xing again. I'll probably be gone for a long while. It's across the desert," he adds, motioning to the map on the wall. Harry studies it a moment, then nods.

"Friends are important," he says quietly. "So you shouldn't break your promise."

Ed flashes him a grin of teeth. "Yeah. Anyway. Are you staying here in Rizembool with Granny? Winry's getting ready to go back to Rush Valley again. She wants to see her old boss."

"I was thinking about visiting Central, actually," Harry admits sheepishly. "It looks like a pretty big place, and I thought it might be interesting to visit and see it."

"Oh, yeah. It's an okay city, I s'pose. Hey, if you want I can get you a place to stay. Colonel Bastard—Excuse me, _Brigadier General_ Mustang now–owes me a favor or two, so I can probably get him to let you crash at his place if you want to save money."

"Oh, I couldn't—I mean…"

"Oh come on. I've been waiting ages to pull a favor out of him! This is the perfect excuse to make him do whatever I tell him to do, don't make me have to wait even longer Harry!"

"Well…All right. But only if it's no trouble for him! I don't want to bother him if he's a busy person," he insists firmly. Ed just grins and goes to make his call.

Ed's grinning when he comes back. "He said it's fine for you to stay so long as you don't eat all his food and trash his place. He's got a lot of work to do though, apparently, so he probably won't be home much. 'So don't expect me to entertain your friend Ed' and so on. I told him not to worry about it, since you're playing tourist and all."

"Thanks, I guess." He's not really sure how he feels about all of this, to be honest. Staying with Winry and Pinako is one thing; they've been taking care of him since the spring morning they'd found him on the road, and he's done everything he could to repay them for letting him stay. But to go and stay with a man he's never met, just so he can visit Central City on a whim? That's completely different, even if Ed seems to know him really well. (And military, how does Ed know someone so high up in the chain? He tries to remember what Ed had mentioned of his past, beyond 'I'm an alchemist and I worked for the State for a few years when I was younger'. It's not much.)

**xoxox**

The three of them set off on their separate ways a week later.


	4. Candy Corn

Okay, so the plot bunny is turning me into a liar. I did say that this would be updated slowly, but as of the moment it's coming rather quickly.

Far quicker than I expected it to. However, I don't think I'll be keeping this pace indefinitely. I can feel the bunny drifting a bit already, now that I've hit chapter six in terms of writing, so it _should_ be awhile before I actually finish that one. Maybe. No guarantees.

**Again, warnings for spoilers for both series, especially FMA.**

Much love to my beta, Zie, as well by the way. She fixes things~

* * *

><p>Harry is napping when the train finally reaches Central, so his first official glimpse of the city is only after he exits, suitcases in hand. (He misses magic so much; they could have been shrunken to fit in the palm of his hand and charmed to weigh nothing with only a flick of the wrist—<em>Stop thinking about it, it's <em>gone!)

He has no idea what this Mustang fellow looks like or where to meet him, he realizes with a jolt. _God dammit Ed, why didn't you show me a photo or give me a place to meet him or something? I wonder if I could ask around…someone might know where I could go to find the man._

"You must be Harry Potter," a voice says from behind him, startling Harry out of his thoughts. He whips around, and then has to look up slightly, to see the other man's face. (He's always been short for his age and he really hates having to look up, it's so aggravating.) Suspicious, he nods slowly.

"Yes, I am. How did you know?" He tenses, hand inching towards his pocket slowly.

The man nods to the coat he's wearing, the one Ed gave him as a parting gift, sharp eyes flicking to his hand and back to his face. "I recognize the coat. Ed's, right? He used to wear the damn thing all the time, and only he was fashion impaired enough to think the thing was 'cool'," he replies, a smirk crossing his face. "I'm Roy Mustang."

"Oh." Harry relaxes minutely, and then kicks himself mentally as he drops his hand. _No Death Eaters here, Harry. And Voldemort's dead, even if there were. Relax. And why did I even go for my wand? I can't _use_ it._

"Do you have everything?"

"Yes, thanks. How far is it?"

"Not too far. C'mon, car's this way." He turns, coat snapping out behind him (Snape's cloak used to billow like that, when he came around the corner and _"Fifty points from Gryffindor Mr. Potter, for lurking in corners_!" but he's dead now. Nagini killed him), and Harry follows obediently. Roy doesn't say anything until they reach the car. "Ed told you that I work a lot, didn't he? So I won't really be home much, and I'd appreciate if you didn't trash the house."

"Yes, he mentioned it."

"Good. I don't really care what you do in the house, so you can have free reign, I guess. However, I'd prefer if you stayed out of my study and out of the alchemy lab in the basement. And while I don't mind if you use the library, I don't advise trying to open any bookcases that have glass doors. They've got alchemical locks and if you try to break into them, you'll end up a pile of ash on the floor."

Harry pauses, and then turns his head to stare at the man as he's driving. "…You're serious."

"Deadly so, I'm afraid."

"Right, then." He turns back to his own window and stares out for a few moments before he clears his throat. "When you say alchemy…"

"Hm?"

"Do you mean alchemy like, making Philosopher's Stones and—"

Roy tenses abruptly, and the air turns heavy. Slowly, "Why do you ask?" he asks, cutting him off.

He's confused by the sudden change, and frowns. Finally, "Well, I don't really know much about alchemy at all," he admits. "The only thing I know about it is the Stone. So when I hear alchemy, that's what I think of. I was just wondering if that's the kind of thing you meant. You know?" Roy relaxes in his periphery vision, before he chuckles nervously.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's what I meant when I said alchemy."

"So you're an alchemist like Ed used to be?"

"Well…yes and no. We both know alchemy, but Ed was more of a general 'knows all kinds of alchemy and doesn't have one specialty' kind of guy. I specialize in flame alchemy. I'm the Flame Alchemist. Frankly, I'm surprised you don't know me."

"I'm not really from around here," Harry explains with a shrug. "So I don't really know anyone."

"Really? Then how did you meet Ed?"

"Through his friend Winry. She and her grandmother found me unconscious on the side of the road, they said. I don't know how I got there, to be honest. One minute I was—" _Fighting, running, _dying.

"You were what?"

"…Fighting in a war," he says abruptly. "I was fighting in a war, and then I wasn't. And I know it makes no sense to you or to Winry and Ed and Granny Pinako, but that's how it is."

Roy frowns at him, pulling into a driveway. "I see—this is my place. There's a spare key under the front mat, in the corner where the potted plant is. I still have paperwork to deal with, so I can't give you a tour right now. You're free to explore, so long as you avoid the study and lab. I don't have any idea if there's any food or not though. If not then there's take out menus on top of the fridge. I'll be home later."

"All right." Harry slides out, and grabs his suitcases. He pauses, hand on the door. "And really, thank you so much for letting me stay here with you, Mr. Mustang."

"No problem. And it's just Roy. Mr. Mustang is weird."

Harry smiles and shuts the door, heading up the drive towards the door as Roy drives away again.

**xoxox**

The house is almost pathologically clean, Harry notes as he toes off his shoes by the door and sets his suitcases down. He's not sure what he expected, but this definitely wasn't it. (Man's a bachelor, right? Aren't they usually pretty sloppy? Then again, military so maybe cleanliness was drilled into him in boot camp or something…) He has to admit he kind of likes it, though. A year on the run and living in the wild, and years before living in a dorm with five other boys meant nothing was ever really clean. And before that was the Dursley's home which he didn't count; it might have been in a perpetual state of clean, but that was because _he_ did most of the cleaning and Dudley certainly made sure he made as much mess as possible for Harry to clean. No, Harry decides, he much prefers the insanely clean yet lived-in feel of Roy's home to a messy home any day. (And it's much nicer than the sterilized clean of the Dursley home.)

It's tasteful, he decides. Nothing garish and offensive to the eyes, and not spartan either. Leather couch, fireplace. He supposes the radio's for entertainment, since he doesn't see a TV anywhere. (He hasn't seen much in the way of modern electronics, actually. He wonders what the actual time period is, because for 'going forward', this place seems pretty far behind the 1990's.) There are a couple knick-knacks over the mantle, and he goes to inspect them before the photos on the far wall catch his attention. Some are clearly Roy at a younger age, a few more recent. One of Roy and a group of people he doesn't recognize since he's never met them; probably his friends…

He spends a good while studying most of the photos on the wall before he's drawn to a bookcase in the corner to skim the titles. They're almost all chemistry books (something he hasn't even _thought_ of since primary school, never mind studied), mixed with what seems to be alchemy books and one or two novels. None of the chemistry books are even remotely beginner levels and he doubts he'd understand anything in them. This doesn't stop him from plucking one off the shelf and flipping it open, however. It's something to do for later, even if he doesn't understand it. He snaps the book shut again and places it back on the shelf with a mental note to come back and flip through the texts before he goes to continue exploring.

The kitchen is straight down the hall and to the left, he finds. Easy enough to remember. Harry inspects the icebox and cupboards only to find that while there is food, there is very little of it. (Dursley's was always full of food, not that he could ever have any of it freely. And now when he's given free reign of a kitchen that isn't at Hogwarts or Grimmauld place—_don't think of that don't think of Sirius_—there's barely anything to eat. Typical of his luck, he thinks.) He sighs through his nose and rummages a bit more, pulling out most everything he can find and checking labels and dates. Half of it is expired and the other half just barely makes enough for a single person meal. But some is better than none and he's hungry after the train, so he sets to finding pans and spices and figuring out the stove he isn't used to using. (He's used to the Dursley's electric stove, not this old fashioned stove he's never seen outside of a museum or Hogwarts kitchen. Seriously, what is with this time period?)

He misses Winry's cooking.

**xoxox**

Roy comes home to Harry Potter fast asleep on his couch, head bowed and a chemistry book open on his lap with glasses hanging precariously off the edge of the boy's nose. He's too tired to carry him to a guest room and he doesn't have the heart to wake him up so he can walk there on his own; he simply removes the book and the glasses, rearranges him into a position that won't give him a crick on his neck and heads to bed.


	5. Wigs!

And chapter five~

**As always, warnings for spoilers for both series, especially FMA.**

And still much love to my beta, Zie, because she fixes things~

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><p>Roy wakes to the smell of pancakes, coffee and bacon in the morning, and follows his nose down to the kitchen where Harry's just pouring more batter into a pan.<p>

"I didn't know you cooked so well," he comments, taking a seat.

"Been cooking since I was old enough to reach the stove," Harry replies absently, checking the bacon. "So, about four or five."

"That's awful young—I wasn't aware I even _had_ bacon."

"You didn't have anything. I went shopping yesterday after I ate the last of your edible food and tossed all the stuff that'd gone bad."

"Oh. Right. I have a habit of eating out and forgetting groceries…"

"I noticed," is the dry response. "Anyhow, I've been cooking long enough to be well at it. You?"

"Nope. Like I said, I eat out pretty much all the time. It's faster, especially lately with work being so busy."

"I see." Harry goes silent as he finishes making the rest of breakfast, and finally takes a seat. "Help yourself."

Roy's already fixing himself a plate before Harry finishes his sentence, and it's not long before they're both eating. "So, what're your plans for today?"

"Don't know. Thinking of going out to explore Central a bit."

"Ah. Well, I'll be working all day again so don't expect to see me."

"Wasn't expecting to, really."

**xoxox**

Harry gets lost a few times before he finds himself in a bookshop specializing in alchemical texts with a side of basic science. He'd found the shop entirely by accident but couldn't quite bring himself to go past it without taking a look first. (And besides, he thinks, getting lost is kind of like an adventure and it's never a true adventure if you don't learn something new at the end of it. And he's so very lost just by being here, in this world.)

_Basic Chemistry, Advanced Chemistry—these titles are ridiculously boring. But I guess textbooks tend to be boring…I might as well start with the basics though. I already know for a fact that I know like, _nothing_ about the subject. Reading Roy's books was like trying to read Gobbledegook back home. Wonder if I can learn alchemy here? It wasn't very useful back at home since it was a dead art, but it seems really popular here even if I've never seen it…and with my magic gone I'm going to need something to do. None of Roy's books were beginner though, which I guess makes sense since he already seems to know it pretty well._

The alchemy sections, he finds, are _extensive_ (which makes sense, being a shop specializing in alchemical texts, but still) and he grins. Beginner texts are easy to locate, and he flicks through pages to get a feel of what he needs to learn. He grimaces once he realizes he's going to need to learn far more than just basic chemistry if he wants to learn this alchemy. It's not a magical art at all in Amestris (not the way it was in the magical world. Flamel had probably used magic and magical items to do alchemy and make his Stone), but a science. And he knows very little of science, and what he does know might not even be correct in this world.

He swears.

**xoxox**

Roy comes home later, around eleven-thirty or so, to find Harry at the kitchen table with a box of half eaten Xingese take out and _stacks_ of books littering his kitchen table.

"…Long night ahead of you, then?" he ventures after a moment of watching the black-haired youth bent over a text and notebook, muttering angrily as he scribbles messy notes.

Harry jerks and looks up, then scowls.

"Apparently so. I didn't realize science was so bloody hard."

Roy raises an eyebrow, and makes his way over to inspect the titles. The eyebrow climbs higher as he takes in the titles. "Okay, basic alchemy books I can understand since you did say you don't know anything about it, but science texts intended for school children under the age of twelve I'm not really understanding."

Harry pauses, then clears his throat sheepishly. "That's…my schooling was a bit ah, _special_, we'll say," he explained. "I stopped mug-er, regular schooling when I turned eleven and entered a school for specialized training, where I lived. So I basically know about the same as a ten-year-old when it comes to this kinda thing."

Roy takes note of the slip—'mug' could be an important clue, filing it away for later reference. "Are you seriously telling me that you don't even know basic science? The hell kind of special school was this?"

"A _very_ special one."

"…Dare I ask what other basic skills you're lacking in?"

"Normal math was an unimportant skill, though we did have a variant which involved a lot of hypothetical numbers and other crazy things like runes and invisible integers, or so my more academically inclined friend told me. I never took that class, but she did. So, math is something I'm probably lacking in."

"Are you sure this was an actual school you attended?"

"Quite sure. If it helps, I _did_ learn that I'm rather good at flouting authority and inciting rebellion against teachers by teaching an illegal student defense association, which I learned to do during my fifth year there. That must count for something, right?"

"I'm torn between amazed and appalled that such a school actually exists."

Harry laughs. "I know some people who might agree with you, but only on the appalled part. However, I doubt you'd like them all that much and they probably wouldn't like you. They weren't fans of anything…different than themselves, and alchemists probably count."

"They sound absolutely lovely," Roy replies, going to raid his icebox. "I'll assume these people are civilians as well."

"Pretty much." He looks up from his notebook and text again, watching Roy dig out something to eat and sit in the other chair.

"So what's got you interested in alchemy all of a sudden?"

Harry shrugs. "Boredom, I guess. I mean, I have nothing better to do except wander around Central and that'll get repetitive after awhile. And I could travel if it does, but eventually I'll run out of places to travel to, and then what? And I sort of get restless when I have nothing else to do, so…it seemed like a good idea, at any rate. Though now I'm starting to rethink that, since it's going to take bloody _forever_ since I have to learn all of this first before I can really even attempt it…"

Roy's lips twitch, and he bites back his laugh. "Boredom, huh?"

"Yeah. Honestly though, I've never seen anyone do alchemy, so maybe I'm just being overly hopeful that it'll be interesting. Ed said he used to be one but that he can't do it anymore, and Al was busy with other stuff so I never asked for a demonstration. And no one else in Rizembool did alchemy."

"You've never seen alchemy? At all?"

"Not at all. It wasn't practiced where I came from, and I've only been in Amestris since spring. And only Rizembool."

"Huh…I suppose I can show you something simple if you want. Give me the pen and some paper. It won't be anything fancy, but you'll get an idea of what kind of thing you can do with basic stuff."

Harry rips out a sheet of paper and passes it with the pen, and watches as Roy sketches a quick circle out on the paper.

"Transmutation circle," he explains in response to Harry's obvious interest. He double-checks to be sure he's drawn it correctly (second nature and years of doing this aside, it's kind of late and he is actually tired and _does not_ want to deal with a rebound from making a mistake drawing a circle that a child could draw correctly, thank you very much!), then steals a second sheet of paper to use as material.

Harry's blatantly fascinated as he watches what used to be a sheet of notebook paper turn into a beautiful origami crane.

Roy passes it over, and Harry inspects it critically.

"Just like magic," he breathes, mostly to himself, and then he grins. "It could almost be magic…"

"It's science," Roy corrects, amused. "Though I guess it could seem like magic."

Harry's grin only widens. "It's magic," he says. "To me, it's magic."

He returns to his texts with renewed vigor, and Roy is bemused.

**xoxox**

_It's based on science, and it has all sorts of specific rules…and maybe it can't do all the things magic could do, but it can do enough and that's good enough for me. Alchemy's this world's equivalent of magic. If I can't be a wizard, then I'm going to be an alchemist._

_I just need to learn bloody _science_ first._


	6. Chupachupa

Huh. Apparently there _is_ a fanfic where Harry goes to Amestris. And I think it's also a RoyxHarry, though I don't actually know. I came across it by accident on someone else's favorites page, but I refused to click and read since I didn't want it to influence my own fanfic's twists and turns. It's called _Brothers In Arms,_ if anyone wants to check it out and let me know how it is. If it's good, I might go and read it myself. (_After_ this is complete, of course, since I really don't want to accidentally set myself up to mimic that story.) I don't know offhand who the author is, though.

**As always, warnings for spoilers for both series, especially FMA.**

Happy reading!

(As a sidenote, FFN apparently doesn't allow superscripts nor carots in fanfiction, which is mildly stupid. Therefore the chemical equation at the end (and all future equations) is slightly altered. Numbers inside of a [ ] are superscript (That is, the tiny script above or below numbers/letters in mathematical/chemical equations).)

* * *

><p>He and Roy barely cross paths for the next week and a half, the latter busy with work and Harry taking to the library to learn everything he needs to know before he can even consider opening an alchemy text. (Not that he could, anyway. Roy's locked all the alchemy texts in the house into his lab where Harry can't reach them, obstinately for Harry's safety because Harry 'seems the type to dive in headfirst without actually knowing what he is doing'. This, while true, doesn't mean he isn't sour about it.) As it turns out, he <em>hates<em> science.

He grew up a muggle but learnt to be a wizard, and magic breaks almost every law of science he comes across. It's hard to remember that something can't be done when he's spent six years doing that exact thing on a daily basis. (Humans can't teleport from one space to another because there is matter in the way, but then what is Apparition if not teleporting?)

He sighs and slams yet another book shut with a half snarl on his lips, and someone chuckles. He jerks his head up to see Roy watching him, mug of coffee in one hand and newspaper in the other.

"I thought you were working…?"

"I escaped early. It's only paperwork today, anyway. Thought I'd check up on you. I take it's not going well?"

"I'm having trouble remembering the laws of physics," Harry replies drily. "Because half the things it says can't be done…"

"You wanted to learn alchemy," Roy reminds him. "So you need to know this stuff. Alchemy can do a lot of things, but there's still laws it needs to follow. Equivalent exchange, and so on. And to change something, you must first know what it is. You can't change a rough stone to a smooth stone, for example, without first knowing _exactly_ how the stone is formed and what needs to be done to change it. And you can't make something out of nothing either."

"I was never good at book learning," Harry grouses. "I was always a hands-on learner."

"Alchemy isn't the kind of thing you can learn like that. Even Ed, who was a prodigy even before his…accident, spent a few years learning from books and a teacher. At the very least, you'd have to be supervised. I don't have that kind of free time, and I really don't feel like inviting more strangers into my home. Keep in mind that I only allowed you to stay because you knew Ed and I owed him a favor. As it is, you've started to grow on me. Sort of like a fungus, actually."

Harry snorts and drops his head onto the table with a _thunk_. "I know. And I appreciate letting me stay, really. I'm just really bad at book learning, and I'm impatient."

"I'll assume studying wasn't one of the things you learnt as a child." Roy sounds distinctly amused.

"It wasn't encouraged," Harry agrees carefully. "I wasn't to be better than Dudley."

"Dudley?"

"My cousin. I lived with my aunt and uncle and cousin. During the summers between school, and before I started my special school. They didn't like me much."

"Ah." He pauses, sipping the coffee slowly and moving further into the room, towards the desk in the corner. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not much to say. They lived in a cookie cutter house on a cookie cutter street and wanted desperately to be 'normal'. Their freak nephew wasn't normal, welcome or very well tolerated. Dudley grew up spoiled and encouraged to beat the crap out of me whenever he was bored. The neighbors were told I was a delinquent, I was assigned every menial chore they could think of, barely fed, and I spent the first ten years of my life living in a cupboard under the stairs. It wasn't very pleasant. I'm over it."

"Neglect and keeping a child under the stairs isn't exactly my definition of normal. What definition did they follow?" Roy frowns at Harry, setting his paper aside on his desk. _Surely someone would have noticed and intervened?_

Harry shrugs and swipes his hair from his eyes. "Yes, well. I don't know. I stopped caring after awhile—sorry," he says abruptly. "For dumping that on you. It was stupid and you probably don't really care. I think I'm just tired."

"It's close to dinner and you've been here since before I got up this morning. Probably justified. Put the books away and go eat," he suggests. "You'll probably need a nap too."

Harry sighs and begins straightening up. "I'm sorry for the mess—"

"It's hardly a mess. Frankly, as an alchemist who used to make three times the mess or more on a daily basis when I was doing research, it's practically _spotless_ to me."

Harry's lips twitch, and he taps his notes into an even pile and sets them aside, standing. Roy shoos him along. "Go order something to eat. Or cook something. Either one. I have a bit of reading I want to do before I eat myself."

Harry rolls his eyes, makes his way out of the room because he can tell that it's not really a suggestion. Roy waits until he's left before he skims over all of Harry's work. _Well, he wasn't kidding about barely knowing the basics…_

**xoxox**

Harry's half done eating when Roy wanders into the kitchen again, books in hand. "All right. I've decided. I don't have much free time, and what I do have I actually use but I can squeeze you in somewhere."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you barely know basic things like math and science, and while you're doing well on your own, you're not getting very far. So I'll teach you. It won't be often, mind you, so you'll still be doing the majority of it on your own. But it'll help you if I show you all your mistakes and such."

"Oh. That makes sense. Thank you."

"Mhm." He waves his hand as if to brush it aside. "Don't mention it. If you manage to start learning alchemy before you return to Rizembool, I can help you with that as well."

Harry beams, and stuffs another forkful of rice in his mouth. "I really appreciate it, Roy," he says after he's swallowed.

Roy just smiles slightly.

**xoxox**

"You know e=mc[2] right?"

"Shut up Roy. I saw that much when I was reading the books on my own."

"Just checking, Potter."

"Shut up Roy."

"…You know what it _means_ though, right?"

"Shut up Roy!"

Roy chuckles and turns back to his newspaper, leaving Harry to his books and notes.

**xoxox**

"In the laboratory, small amounts of hydrogen gas may be made by the reaction of calcium hydride with water. CaH[2] + 2H[2]O → Ca(OH)[2] + 2H[2]..." Roy recites, watching Harry scribble down notes.

"That sounds ridiculously complicated—"

"Probably. Keep writing. There's a lot more to get through."


	7. Chapter 45 and a Quarter

Okay, couple points I want to address before this chapter begins:

Havoc's still being on Roy's team despite his spinal injury and paralysis: Canonly, at the end of FMA:B and manga, Dr. Maroch offers to restore Roy's eyesight in exchange for his vowing to help rebuild Ishval. Roy accepts, but states that he wants 'his friend' (aka, Havoc) healed first.  
>The 'epilogue' episode shows Roy with his eyesight restored, and while I don't recall if Havoc was shown in any of the scenes, I do remember that Havoc is shown undergoing physical therapy in the manga chapter of 108. (Chapter 108, pg. 106, photo in top left corner, for those who need citations!) While I do not recall if canonly he returns to Mustang's team after this therapy, I choose to interpret his attempts at recovery to mean that he does, in fact, return to service under Mustang after he can walk on his own again.<p>

Second point:

Mustang helping rebuild Ishval: I am aware that canonly, it's very likely that he (and Miles and Scar) began helping rebuild directly in Ishval itself, even if it's never outright stated.

However, for purposes of this fanfiction and its plot, I have chosen to have Mustang instead stay in Central, where he, Miles and Scar worked to ensure that Ishavalans had the freedom and protection via laws that they would need to be able to rebuild their homeland without fear of being attacked by the Amestrian army yet again, rather than go there directly. This does not mean, of course, that Roy _never_ goes to Ishval, only that he visits and then returns to Central where he can have a direct hand in ensuring they are protected just like any other Amestrian citizen.

Third point:

I realize it's probably a bit OOC for Mustang to throw him a party, but I wanted him to finally get around to meeting the others, and this was the most plausible reason I could think of that didn't involve Hawkeye shooting him. xD;

I think that's everything?

Oh. And next chapter will be short, and you'll probably kill me for where I chose to end it.

I REGRET NOTHING.

* * *

><p>Between learning on his own, exploring Central and being taught by Roy when the latter isn't working, Harry barely notices time passing.<p>

And then he looks at the calendar and realizes that his birthday is the next day. Roy finds him there, staring at the calendar when he returns from work.

"Something wrong?"

"No. Just…my birthday's tomorrow. I didn't even realize that an entire month's passed since I got here to Central."

Roy pauses, and studies the calendar. "July 31st, then?"

"Yeah…" Harry looks wistful. "Used to be my friends would send me gifts and I'd get them at exactly midnight. It was a sort of ritual, really." He glances at Roy and smiles slightly. "But I won't be able to get gifts from them this year."

"Won't you?"

He shakes his head. "No. They're…too far away to send them anymore. Or I'm too far away. Something like that."

"I see…" He hums thoughtfully, before turning on his heel and heading for the kitchen to make something to eat. "Then tomorrow be up early. Around six o'clock."

"What? Why?"

"I'll bring you to the office. You can meet my team. They'll enjoy an excuse to slack off for a day, and a birthday party seems like a good one to use."

"What—no. You don't have to do that!"

"I want to. _You_ don't get a choice in the matter, Mr. Potter."

Harry sputters a moment, because this is completely unexpected, and he hadn't mentioned his birthday for pity or to interrupt his schedule or—

"Friends throw parties for friends, Harry. Don't get so worked up."

"Are…are we friends, then?"

"I was assuming so. Unless you have objections?"

"No… I don't, no. It's…" He shuffles his feet a bit, then turns from the calendar with a grin. "It's nice, having friends here."

**xoxox**

Roy's already dressed and waiting for him when Harry stumbles to the front door in the morning, stuffing toast in his mouth and trying to swallow it without choking.

"I could have waited two minutes for you to eat properly—"

"No, it's fine. I'm ready."

"Come along then," Roy instructs, steering him to the car by the elbow. Harry just grins and allows himself to be led. It's _far_ too early for any sane person to be awake, he thinks, but he's getting a _birthday party_, and it's his first ever. (He'd never had one, except with Hedwig—dead and gone as well, oh god the Killing Curse had hit her in her cage _why_ didn't he let her fly ahead on her own, she'd been trapped with no way to dodge when it came— and the other owls bringing his gifts. He'd always left Privet Drive after his birthday, never before.) So he can tolerate being awake this early for that. He'll have to repay them for this somehow.

"I'll introduce you to everyone when we get to the office," Roy tells him, as the car starts. "Fuery made you a cake, I'm told. Though he didn't know your age, so he won't put the candles on until we actually get to it—"

"Eighteen. This is my eighteenth birthday."

"Ah. Well, happy eighteenth then, Harry."

"Thanks." He's almost bouncing in his seat, and grins at Roy when the older man shoots him a glance, mouth turned up in an amused smile.

"You're like a four year old."

"I know, but I can't help it. I've never had a birthday party before."

"…That's ridiculous. Seriously?"

"The relatives, remember?"

"Ah, right. You did mention how horrible they were. I'll assume birthdays were another of those things they ruined for you."

"Pretty much."

"Well, you'll enjoy the party I'm sure. Havoc's spent all last night decorating the office and ordering food."

"I can't wait to see it. But you're really sure this isn't going to get you guys in trouble? I'd hate to get you in trouble over me…"

"I'm sure, Harry. Relax. Even soldiers need a day off sometimes, and my men have been working hard lately. One day off won't cause too much work."

"Alright…"

"If you're done with your unnecessary worrying now, you can tell me about some of the exploring you've been doing. See anything interesting?"

Harry appreciates the change of topic, and launches into a rambling monologue of everything he's seen since he arrived, describing things even when he's well aware Roy knows what he's talking about. Rambling keeps him from being nervous, and the closer to the office they get the more nervous he is.

**xoxox**

"Harry, this is my team. Major Miles, Captain Falman, First Lieutenant Hawkeye, Second Lieutenants Breda and Havoc, and Sergeant Fuery. Everyone, this is Harry Potter. He's the one I mentioned," Roy states, pointing to each individual as he names them. "And the dog over in the corner taking a nap is Black Hayate. Technically he's Hawkeye's dog, but we consider him part of the team too."

"Hullo," Harry replies, smiling and giving a nervous half wave. "Nice to meet you guys." He's somewhat unprepared for Havoc's rather boisterous greeting and attempts to shove party foods into his hands, but he appreciates the blond man's enthusiasm. (He's not used to people being _happy_ about his birthday. Gifts from his friends were great and all, but it's not the same as seeing them happy about it in _person_.)

Hawkeye gives him a small smile when he catches her eye as he's dragged by a grinning Havoc over to the table of gifts (they got him presents? They'd never met him until now and only heard about the birthday yesterday and they still took the time to buy something for him, even if they had no idea what he was like?), and he smiles back at her.

"You didn't have to get me anything—"

"It's your birthday! Of _course_ we had to get you stuff! It's not a party without stuff to tear wrapping paper off of!"

"But you don't even—"

"No protests! Open them!" Havoc demands, eager and bouncing. (Harry's reminded of Pig, Ron's owl. Always weaving and bouncing about. He can't help but grin at the man and soak up the cheerfulness.) Harry rolls his eyes and reaches for the first of the gifts.

It's true that this is their first meeting and they'd only had a night to get gifts, but Roy must have mentioned his learning alchemy to them because the first gift he opens is a box of chalk –"For drawing transmutation circles," Havoc explains happily—and he thanks Breda for it. The chalk is quickly followed by a chess set—"That one's from Roy, he likes chess and he probably plans to train you into someone he can play with since he kicks our asses at it all the time!" "I do not plan to '_train_ him to be someone I can play with', Havoc. I just thought he might like to play sometime, since it's not like _you're_ any challenge."—, a couple more alchemy books—"Roy said you didn't have these ones, so Falman thought you might be able to use them."—, a bunch of novels from Miles, Riza and Fuery—"Roy said you like to read when you're not studying or exploring Central."—, and a map of Central—"Since you like to explore Central, this'll help if you get lost!"—from Havoc.

Harry thanks them after each gift is unwrapped, and they all scatter to chat and eat the food laid out across a table that Havoc's apparently stolen from a conference room. ("No one was using the room!" "Regardless, you're putting it back, Havoc. After the party." "Fine, fine.") He migrates over to Roy's desk, flipping through one of the alchemy books with interest before he closes and sets it aside to smile at the man when he comes over with two glasses of punch.

"Enjoying it?"

"Yes. Thanks so much." He takes the glass offered and sips slowly, savoring the flavor.

"You don't have to thank me. It's really not a problem."

"Still though. You didn't have to go through all the trouble, so I can thank you for it if I like."

"If I accept your thanks, will you stop thanking me?"

Harry laughs, and Roy's lips quirk upwards before settling into a full grin of his own. "I might. You never know," Harry says finally.

"If you thank me one more time, I'm not letting you have any cake."

"That's cruel and unusual punishment, you know."

"I'd say it was appropriate, really," Roy counters.

"You must be a cruel and unforgiving officer if you punish people for being polite."

"Oh yes. I'm such a hooligan. Polite people make me irrationally angry and I end up assigning them the worst duties I can think of. Fear my unmannerly wrath."

Harry snorts and nearly chokes on his punch.

**xoxox**

The party doesn't last all that long—only until about half an hour before Roy and his men usually leave the office on a normal day—but Harry's still exhausted by the end of it. Between making the circuit of the room to talk to everyone, playing with Black Hayate and Havoc's seemingly natural abundance of cheerful energy he's tired himself out.

Roy allows him to lean on him, to keep from falling flat on his face. (He's staggering like a drunken Mundungus, and fairly sure that he _would _fall flat on his face without Roy's help, even if it's just tiredness.) He's relieved when they make it to the car, if only because it means he can catch a cat nap while Roy drives. Roy chuckles, amused.

"You look like a drunk, you know."

"Shut up Roy, I'm just tired. You _know_ that."

"Well, yes. But it's still mildly hilarious."

"Hahahaha. It's so hilarious you can make your own breakfast tomorrow, then."

"I'm only teasing. Please don't make me cook my own breakfast, I can't make bacon crispy like you do."

"I'm offended you only like me for my bacon."

"I'm offended you don't make it more often."

"Just for that we're having porridge tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, please don't take away my bacon!"

"Shut up and let me nap."

"Yes sir," Roy answers promptly, grinning. Harry huffs and rolls his eyes before letting himself drift off into sleep.

He's awoken by Roy's hand on his shoulder shaking him, and he cracks an eye blearily. "Hmm?"

"Home, Harry. C'mon."

"Oh. Right." He drags himself out of the car, and stumbles for the door. Roy keeps a hand on his arm, only letting go once Harry's finally reaches his room. "I'm gon' sleep now, Roy. Pro'ly won't wake up to make dinner," he slurs sleepily. "So make somethin' yourself, 'kay?"

"Yes, that's fine. We have leftovers anyway. Goodnight Harry."

"G'night Roy." He shuts the door and heads to bed, shedding his shirt and socks as he moves. He's asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.


	8. Intermission: Omake Chapter!

Okay, some things before I get to the chapter:

In regards to this chapter: While it doesn't actually ever take place, in context it really comes after chapter Eight, which is not posted yet. XD;; I am posting this for two reasons:

1) Chapter nine is giving me serious trouble because it's a brat, and I wanted something to give you guys before Christmas, thus an Intermission Omake Chapter.

And

2) This story is ridiculously popular. I am utterly amazed at how popular it is. I have over _six thousand_ hits for all seven chapters, which beats my record of a little over four thousand for an eight chapter completed fanfic previously posted. That I have that many for seven chapters, for a story that isn't even complete yet is mind boggling to my brain. I am getting landslides of emails everytime I post a new chapter. Within the first few days of posting the first 3 chapters, I had over 77+ emails _a day_ (and that was just for favorites, never mind author and story alerts; the very first day of chapters 1 and 2 being posted, I actually had over 150 combined for story, author and favorites alerts) for about a week, and though it's now slowed down I'm still getting at least four or five a day.

It's highly flattering, and I want to thank you guys for reading. This fully includes those who read without reviewing, favoriting, or alerting. I totally love you guys, and while I'm writing this only for myself, I'm still touched that so many people like it. This omake scene was written for you guys. (And possibly for the fangirls who will gut me for next chapter's ending which I will never regret.)

* * *

><p>Harry flips through his menu idly, glancing up at Roy every so often when the other man isn't looking.<p>

"I think I'll have the stuffed shells," he says finally, snapping it shut and setting it aside on the table while taking a sip of his soda.

Roy's eyes flick up to his face for a few seconds, then back down to his own menu and he nods.

"Good choice, I suppose. The pasta is their best dish. I think I'll get the same, actually."

Harry grins, and fiddles with his napkin absently as they wait for the waiter to stop by the table again. "So…"

"Yes?"

"Is this a date?"

Roy chokes on his soda. "What? What in the world makes you think this is a date?"

"Well, the author's editor keeps going on and on about "their first date" and how it'll be awkward and adorable; and while this isn't all that adorable, it _is_ pretty awkward. So, is this a date?"

"No Harry. This is not a date. A date is two people who go out for dinner together—"

"So this _is_ a date—"

"It's not a date! And during dinner they hold hands and make cow eyes at each other—"

"Why is it 'cow eyes' anyway?"

"Focus Harry! And after dinner they go to a movie, and then they go home and have sex!"

"Wait a minute, do you even have movies in this time period?"

"…I actually have no idea. But not the point Harry!"

"So this is a semi-date! We're having dinner together, but not holding hands or making cow eyes. But we'll probably have sex at some point, so we can count it as our first date."

"It's not a date!"

Harry grins, and the waiter who looks mildly confused, clears his throat.

"Are you ready to order, sirs?"

_And then the scene ends, because the author finds this whole thing mildly ridiculous. Mainly because no, it's really not a date. It's too soon and their first date's got to be way better than going out to eat just to cheer Harry up._

_The date will probably involve Snabberflockys._

* * *

><p>This is actually not the thing I originally intended to post. That was an AU of this AU, and it got FAR too long to post as an intermissional omake chapter. That one will be posted separately as a one shot at some point after Christmas, because it's getting insanely long. It's titled <span>My Serpent Devours Its Own Tail, A Romantic Comedy<span> Or In which Havoc is a Fairy God Mother, Riza isn't a princess and Roy falls in love with the wrong boy. for anyone who wants to read my originally planned intermission chapter.


	9. I am so not quality

Okay. A note on Luna.

While it _is_ Luna, it's also _not_ Luna. It's Amestrian!Luna, and on this side of the Gate her name is Leanne and she probably technically counts as an OC.

That said, she's not_ particularly_ important to the plot in and of itself. Her importance lies more in the fact that, because she's Luna she has a tendency to _know_ things, to a rather eerie degree, and in the fact that she's a minor plot device. "She's Luna" really should be enough to explain anything, honestly. Otherwise, she isn't that vital to the story.

So yes. Luna.

* * *

><p>Harry spends the next few days after his birthday just relaxing. Choosing to forgo his studying for the moment, he instead spends his time reading one of the books he's received, and studying the map of Central from Havoc, circling places he recognizes. The two hours a week usually set aside for Roy to tutor him are instead spent playing chess (Ron used to play wizards' chess with him, but he'd never managed to beat Ron. Roy, he realizes quickly, is a master strategist and he has to wonder who would win in a game between the two. Ron is a genius at chess in his own right, but Roy can drop and form new plays in the seconds between one move and the next) in the library with Roy. He and Roy make small talk as they play, Harry telling Roy about Hogwarts (what he could, without mentioning magic, at least), and Roy telling Harry about some of his own 'adventures'.<p>

This new routine only lasts three weeks before Harry and Roy slip back into the previous one, of work and study and Harry's explorations.

**xoxox**

It's on one such exploration that Harry runs into Luna.

Or at least, she _looks_ exactly like Luna and it's jarring in so many ways and he stops breathing for a few precious seconds as the girl—no woman—just smiles dreamily at him.

"Hello. You're rather lost, aren't you?"

"I—Luna?" he chokes out, astonished.

Her smile widens a fraction, and she shakes her head. "Leanne," she corrects. "Leanne Kentwood."

"Oh—I'm sorry. You just…you look exactly like someone I used to know—Harry Potter."

"Pleasure, Mr. Potter," is the dreamy reply as she turns to pick up a stack of books. "These are for you."

"What? No, I don't—"

"No, go on. They've been waiting for someone. I think it's you they were waiting for. Goodbye."

"But payment—"

"Oh, no no. You don't pay for these ones. That'd offend them. Goodbye."

He finds himself outside the shop after this, with an armful of books he hadn't planned for and barely able to breathe through his shock. _Luna—she's _here_! But how? And—Leanne, she said. I don't understand, how could she be here and yet be someone else entirely—I don't _understand!

He jerks himself back to reality, and heads back to the house in a daze. Perhaps a cup of tea for his nerves…

**xoxox**

"Harry? Are you alright?" Roy asks, feeling mildly alarmed when he comes home to find Harry sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea and a stack of books, just staring into space blankly. This is not normal Harry behavior.

Harry glances up, and Roy's relieved to see that he's aware even if he's acting oddly.

"I'm fine. I just…ran into someone today, that's all. It was rather odd, I suppose."

"Oh?"

"A Leanne Kentwood—"

"Oh, Miss Kentwood? She's rather odd. Owns the bookshop, _Mad Hatter_, right? She's harmless though, so nothing to worry about—Harry?"

Harry laughs, an odd choking sound.

"I _knew_ her, Roy. Or at least, she looks identical to someone I knew back home. Except that the person I know _can't_ be here, so it was…a shock, I suppose. I'm fine, though, really. I just wasn't expecting to run into a Luna-twin here in Amestris."

Roy frowns. "Luna?"

"One of my friends from home."

There's a pause, and Roy yanks his jacket back on. "Get your jacket on. We're going to eat out."

"What?" Harry looks up, startled. "Why?"

"Because we always eat in and it's boring. We're eating out for once. I know a little place that serves actual Xingese instead of the stuff we usually order."

"Take out's not authentic Xingese?" Harry asks, and there's a hint of teasing in his tone, a return to a more normal Harry behavior, instead of the mildly alarming blank stare of before. Roy snorts, tossing him the coat and snatching up his keys from the counter.

"About as real as a Snabberflocky, whatever the hell those are."

"A…what?"

"I don't even know. Miss Kentwood once gave me a fake gold earring when I was browsing the shelves and told me it would keep the Snabberflockys away. I decided it was in my interest not to question it."

Harry's laugh is strangled. "Oh. Yes, that…that sounds like Luna. Or Miss Kentwood, I suppose. How odd that she's exactly the same, no matter where she is…" he adds under his breath, following Roy to the car as he yanks his jacket closer to himself. It's summer, but the nights in Central are cool all the same and he appreciates the light coat.

The drive is quiet, with only intermittent conversation about what Harry's been up to all day and what Roy's doing at work, (what isn't classified, at least) and how his team is doing.

Harry takes note that Roy was serious when he said he knows a 'little place', as the restaurant is one of those tiny hole in the wall places. It's located directly between an alley and an abandoned building, covered in peeling paint and a sign that's only half lit. The door's open, and Harry can smell the food as he gets out of the car.

"You weren't kidding about little…though it looks ready to fall apart."

"It's better inside, trust me," Roy says over his shoulder. He steps inside, and Harry follows.

* * *

><p>Also, sorry it took so long to post this chapter. It was finished, before Christmas, but chapter nine took me much longer. First Christmas stuff, then I got sidetracked by Tumblr and RPcrack RPs on Tumblr (I've made friends with a Roy RPer and from there a bunch of other FMA blog RPers, and well. Things got rather insane awful quick.) So sorry about that.

Speaking of tumblr...http: / / serpentdevourstail. tumblr. com/ This is a link to this story's official tumblr. I post snippets of the chapters I'm currently working on there, for those who want sneak peeks, as well as each chapter in full, and random snippets of other fanfictions that I find and enjoy. You're welcome to flip through it if you like. Just remove all the spaces.


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